Discovering My Path: The Run of Life

My Origin Story:

I’ve been running my entire life. I started running as a 9-year-old kid. My mom’s boyfriend at the time was a Marine and would take me on runs in my hometown. This is where it all started. I then went to boarding school in Colorado in a small town called Evergreen. I was there from the ages of 10 to 11 years old and ran with the headmaster, Jodi. He was an avid runner, and we ran around the lake a few times a week. This was one of my most cherished outlets, and it has remained in my life since then. I ran cross country in high school and tended to stick to the 5k-10k routes. I ran through the incredible fall season of New Hampshire in a school located in Tilton. I was a great runner and ended up being the captain of the team for a year. I had a cycling friend who was also incredible at running. He was a great source of motivation for me to run faster, as I often tried to keep up with him. I then moved on to college and didn’t really run regularly. I was on my feet so much for work that I ended up being in fantastic shape just from working in restaurants and riding my bike everywhere since I had no car. I then started working at a gaming company in the city and began running with my wife after work in a running group she started. At the time, she was qualifying for Boston and doing boot camp workouts with friends. I started running longer distances with her and some of my coworkers for fun, and this is where it started to get a bit more serious. At one point, we were running half marathons at least once a month (sometimes once a week) and signing up for a few marathons a year. We then dipped our toe into the ultra scene, and I ran a 50K and my wife ran a 50 Miler. This was a fantastic period, but we were utterly wrecked from all the training and spent most of our time repairing our destroyed legs by taking ice baths and napping on the weekends. We now live in the East Bay, and I am the only one running. I run with both dogs up trails and am training once again for the next big thing! So now that I’ve explained the history of my running experience, I’ll fill in the blanks of why this is such an important part of my life.

Lesson 1: Do the work

I’ve run races where my training was near perfect, and I’ve run races where I had done almost no training. I now choose the one where I train more every time. The work is a list of runs you MUST do; otherwise, the race day quality will vary. If you have big goals, the training and the recovery are extremely important, and if you skip days, you will slip. This is an important lesson for life because we often have big goals but don’t create daily plans for how to achieve them. It’s important to know when you are under- or overtraining, or under- or overworking, by using data to guide your plans. With running, it’s easy because you can use HR, pace, distance, race practice runs, etc., to measure your training quality. This is a bit more challenging with life goals, but there are metrics out there to capture and track each week. Write them down and figure out the incremental path towards your big goals, and your race day will be a good one.

Lesson 2: Cherish your bad days

The work sometimes comes easy and sometimes is extremely difficult. The hard days are when a big chunk of progress is made, so push through! The harder the day feels, the more you will develop. This is often counterintuitive because every ounce of your body is saying to stop. Today, for example, I felt like absolute crap and didn’t want to run. I have a rule: put your clothes on, get outside, give yourself 10 minutes, and see if you feel better. I have quit maybe a half dozen runs, and it’s mostly been due to injury or sickness, not because I didn’t feel like it.

Lesson 3: Run your own race

Every race I run, I try my best to ignore all external factors that may impact the quality of my race experience. You will face hard race conditions, and it's important to focus only on what you set out to do and not on other people. I love staying with pacers, as it gives me one less thing to think about. The same rules apply to professional and personal development. If you find your “pacer,” or the people who are also trying to do what you are doing and encourage you, it will be easier to run your own race when the goal day comes. You will also accept the outcomes and love the process more if you allow yourself to show up as you are and not fight for a goal that may have been too hard to begin with. Setting a hard goal means you pushed yourself that much harder to get there than if you had created an easy goal and surpassed it. Be kind to yourself during your journey and run your own race.

Lesson 4: Training is not just the workout; it's a lifestyle.

This was a hard lesson for me to learn, especially now that I am getting older. I would often run super hard every time and not stretch, drink beers afterward, and eat tons of low-quality food because I felt it was justified by my effort. Training efficiently means stretching, getting a good night's sleep, consuming high-quality nutrient-dense food, practicing mindfulness, and maintaining a cool head, etc. This is a holistic effort. The same applies to the goals you have in your personal and professional life; you must include a good habit and routine to push yourself efficiently. That might mean putting the phone down in the morning and spending some time walking and waking up, or making a healthy meal so you don't get tired later in the day. It could also mean saying no to things like going out with friends for late-night drinking that could impact the next day, or choosing not to watch TV all afternoon and instead reading or learning something you've wanted to learn, or working on a project. The lifestyle has to match what you are trying to achieve.

Lesson 5: Have a strong 'why'

The 'why' for me is that running is my therapy, my passion, and a part of my identity. I can’t imagine my life without running, as it has always helped me through the hardest times. When I feel myself spiraling into a slump or start to feel overwhelmed, I go for a run, and I always feel better. Simon Sinek talks about having a strong 'why' and its importance in achieving your goals. The 'why' is what pushes you through the hard times: the deep valleys of despair, the injuries, the rainy cold mornings, the end of the race when you feel weak and tired, the long training days that hurt every bone in your body. The 'why' is really the essence of what you're out here trying to do. If there is no strong guiding purpose, then that’s okay; use someone else to inspire you and their guiding purpose to help you find yours. Who inspires you? Pretend they are studying with you for that test or climbing with you up that hill. Ask them for advice when times are tough and think about what they would do. This will help you in times when motivation is gone, and all you've got left is your discipline and drive.

Lesson 6: Make training your top priority every day

Running first thing in the morning is the best way to guarantee consistency. Believe me, in all my years of running, I have tried it at pretty much every time of day, including the middle of the night. I think the latest run I did was around 8 pm, and it was a 10-mile run. I don't recommend it, but if you have to get it done, you will find a way. The worst runs for me are when I sleep in, and the day gets a little too hot as I am finishing. This is the same rule I apply to personal goals. I tend to fade at the end of the day, so I must get the important things done first thing in the morning. I know, I know, mornings suck, but it's really the best way to get the most focus because people are asleep, and they won't interrupt your flow. If you are like me and get easily distracted, removing any probability of those distractions is key to being consistent. And at the end of the day, you can do whatever you like because you won the morning!

Lesson 7: Connect with nature every day

We are a bunch of animals running around on a spinning globe in space, and our biology was designed for a lifestyle in nature—outside, climbing, running, hiking, searching for food, looking out for predators, and connecting with other humans. Running outside is sometimes the only time I get outdoors, and coincidentally, it's an activity our bodies are very well adapted to because of our biology. It's why I consider running an immovable object in my life; we are quite literally engineered for it. If you have an interest in this topic, I highly recommend reading "Born to Run." It's essential for any runner as it dispels many myths about running. Why is this important? We need to be reminded daily that we are designed to do certain things, and in a world that's becoming more digital, we've lost our connection to our biology and what we were built to do. Design your goals and aspirations around what our biology is meant to do. Go have coffee with a friend and talk about your goals, or learn something from someone in a class. Visit the park and read the book you’ve been meaning to read for years, spend time in nature, and let your mind wander. It will provide clarity, especially if you're unsure of your goals. Plan trips focused on nature and be outside more often. You'll be surprised how easily you can shift your mind from anxious doom-scrolling to what we love with a 20-minute walk or just by sitting on some grass you usually drive by. Pull over and take a picture while you're on your way somewhere; slow down—that's what nature constantly reminds us to do. I once had the opportunity to ask Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney, a question. I asked, "What advice would you give to your younger self?" He said to stop and smell the roses, enjoy the moments a bit more because they will be over sooner than you think, and these moments might be the best ones of your life, so it’s important to cherish them and not rush past. Those weren't his exact words, but in summary, it was to slow down, take it in, enjoy it. Nature will always prioritize this, so whether you're running or pursuing any endeavor, just remember where we all came from.

Conclusion

Everyone has a path they are trying to carve and goals they are aspiring to achieve, but the key part of all this is to embrace the process and enjoy your time aspiring to do great things. Do the work, take in the good and bad, love yourself, and run your own race; embody the life you want to live and make it a part of your identity. Connect it to a strong purpose or 'why,' prioritize yourself and your mission in the morning, and do it outside in the sun, because the outdoors is an incredible place! I hope you all find this inspiring and helpful, no matter where you are on your path, as these practices have helped me tremendously and have made me a great runner in the process.